Slightly Broken
by Plural Force
Summary: [Oneshot, Rikkai D1] At first glance, Yagyuu and Niou were polar opposites. How was it, then, were they able to imitate each other so flawlessly?


Well, here it is: My first Prince of Tennis fanfic. I've ventured over here from various other fandoms, and thought I'd try my hand at writing these gay tennis boys. XD

I have determined that writing and posting a long-running fic chapter-by-chapter is officially impossible for me; therefore, I have resigned myself to one-shots, which I can usually write better anyway. First up is Rikkai D1 fic. I am an obsessive D1 fan, and there is not nearly enough of it out there. (Of course, I say this about the Golden Pair, too, so it could just be my fangirl mind.) After letting them sit in my head for a while, I give you this. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis.

-o0o-

Slightly Broken

At first glance, they were like polar opposites.

Yagyuu Hiroshi was the "gentleman": the perfect, polite young man, his dark brown hair neatly combed, never a hair out of place. Behind reflective oval glasses, his eyes were calm and cool and always seemed to know the answer to the question. Perfect grades, perfectly neat clothes, perfectly polite demeanor-- everything about him screamed "elegant." Yagyuu Hiroshi was the "good boy."

Niou Masaharu, on the other hand, was the "trickster," the wild child, with messy, bleached-white hair and fierce, angry eyes. He was the one that got less than favorable grades in school, the one that did whatever the hell he wanted and couldn't expect anyone to care less. In fact, the people around him would likely be surprised if he _didn't_ act snarky and wild. Yes, Niou Masaharu was the "bad boy."

At first glance, they were like night and day-- total opposites no matter which way you looked at it.

How was it, then, that they were able to imitate each other so flawlessly?

-o0o-

They met in the morning, before practice.

"We still on for Friday night?" Niou asked, stripping his t-shirt off as he changed into their mustard-yellow tennis uniform in the locker room. "Friday night" was just a stupid movie outing, but they both needed to get out.

"Of course," Yagyuu shot back over his shoulder as he buttoned up his own uniform. "You know I'm not going to cancel on you."

Niou smirked, glancing over at the other boy. He caught the underlying meaning behind his doubles partner's words: _You know I'm not going to want to go back home._

And he _did_ know. They'd talked about it over the years. He'd been to Yagyuu's house; he'd seen it for himself. Personally, Niou thought he'd suffocate in an environment like that. It was far too... _proper_. Yagyuu's father was a stern businessman; his mother was a prim and proper housewife. And when Niou walked in, everything seemed so foreign and formal and _clean_. It was unnerving.

Niou knew that Yagyuu wasn't completely happy with it, either. True, the boy had been raised with this neatness all his life. For a while, it was refreshing and calming, such perfection. But then Yagyuu met Niou.

Old habits die hard; at first, Yagyuu had trouble getting used to the silver-haired boy's wild tendencies, antics that were so unlike what he was used to. (Even Yagyuu's built in politeness had him calling the other boy by his last name, "Niou-kun," for years, in spite of their close relationship.) But as they went on, as the two got to know each other, Yagyuu found it easier and easier to like the Trickster's "bad boy" side; it was rather addicting.

Quite frankly, Yagyuu was bored of perfection. He had spent his entire life always keeping things in perfect order, and he was bored to tears. Yagyuu was tired of always being the perfect one, best grades in the class, never a toe out of line. It was stifling him, and he needed to get out. To Yagyuu, this was where Niou came in. The white-haired boy was like a breath of fresh air from his deadly dull routine. It was around Niou that Yagyuu was finally able to put down his barriers, take off his mask, and just be himself. Niou was tricky and wild and free; in Yagyuu's eyes, he was perfect.

Yagyuu turned his head to the left, meeting his partner's gaze. After a moment, they both turned away, breaking the moment.

"No," Yagyuu murmured to himself as he fiddled with his shirt buttons. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

-o0o-

Both of their lives were slightly broken.

Both of their families were slightly ruined. Yagyuu's was just a little too upright and strict; Niou's was just a little too uncaring.

In Yagyuu's case, his parents were far too cold and distant. Yagyuu's father always seemed perfectly business-like and immaculate; his mother, quiet and proper and unquestioning. It was this neatness, this politeness, that seemed to drive a wedge between them. At dinner the table was mostly silent; no random chatter about school or work that day was brought up, no "Hey, you'll never guess what happened today!" Just the usual small talk, and the usual general responses. They never did anything together, never went out, never really talked. There were times when Yagyuu felt like he didn't really know them at all; they were slowly breaking apart.

Niou, on the other hand-- Niou's family was the opposite. His parents could not have cared less about him or either of his siblings. A sit-down dinner with the whole family was nonexistent; Niou often ended up reheating something from the fridge or slipping out of the house to some fast-food restaurant. It was just as well; a real family dinner would probably have resulted in his father and mother yelling at each other and his brother and sister cringing from the noise. They never did anything together, never went out, because they were all losing grip and no one really loved each other anymore. Niou felt like not one of them was actually happy; they were slowly breaking apart.

Both of the two teens knew what it was like. The reasons behind it were different, but both of them were slightly broken.

-o0o-

They walked home together under the orange sunset.

"So what is _up_ with that one book they're making us read?"

"What, _1984_?" Yagyuu shrugged one shoulder slightly. "It's an interesting read."

"It's creepy as hell, that's what it is."

"Hm. I can't argue with you there."

A pause. Change in subject. "Can I stay over at your place tonight?"

Yagyuu hardly even blinked. "Any specific reason?"

"Nah. Just needed a place to crash."

"I see." Yagyuu glanced over at his doubles partner. He could tell the hidden meaning behind the words: _I don't want to go home tonight._ Niou didn't want to go home a lot of nights.

Yagyuu had been over to his friend's house a few times. Frankly, his impression was that if _he_ lived there, he'd _never_ go home. The house was dark and old and always a bit of a mess. Yagyuu had felt the tension between Niou and his parents, had heard Niou's mother and father shouting behind closed doors. He could only imagine what that would be like with his own family.

Niou's parents didn't care. They just didn't. Niou sometimes thought they should just get a divorce and spare everyone the pain, and oftentimes wondered why they had gotten married in the first place. The two of them were so wrapped up in their own troubles and their own petty arguments that they didn't even bother to look after their children. Bad report card? So what? Sneaking off? At least it got him out of the house.

At school, Niou was the cynical one, the prankster, the one who mouthed off to teachers. To tell the truth, he was actually smart enough to get mostly A's and B's; he just didn't give a damn, that was all. Niou was the one with no rules, no boundaries, no one to tell him when to stop.

And truthfully, he was a little sick of it.

No one cared about him. Niou knew this, and did a bunch of wild things in class to get attention. Because _some_ attention, if only momentary, was better than nothing at all.

And then he met Yagyuu.

To be perfectly honest, Niou wasn't sure what to make of picture-perfect Yagyuu at first; the boy seemed too uptight. But then he relaxed and got to know him, and realized there was more to Yagyuu than his immaculate looks. And here was the thing-- Yagyuu actually _cared_ about him. It was a foreign notion; Niou wasn't used to people caring about him. But Yagyuu did care, and Niou knew it. That alone was enough. And then there was that cool, refreshing cleanliness of his, the logic of actually having things in order. It was something Niou had never experienced before, such neatness, and he couldn't get enough; it was rather addicting. Yagyuu was polite and orderly and yet still a bit sarcastic; in Niou's eyes, he was perfect.

Niou had no place to go, nowhere to truly call home, nobody to truly call family. He would never admit it aloud, but it was a bit lonely. So for Niou, having someone who cared and truly liked him for who he was was something he needed more than anything. He had always been wild and free, and needed something to ground him, something to return to. That "something", to him, was Yagyuu.

Niou went home with his doubles partner that night.

-o0o-

They still remembered the first time they switched.

It was Yagyuu's idea, actually, though Niou was unhesitating in going along with it. It was a rather brilliant idea: Niou would become Yagyuu and Yagyuu would become Niou. The two of them spent weeks working on the project, getting every detail just right, from their hair to the way they wore their clothes to their posture and speech and mannerisms. In the end, Niou looked in the mirror and saw Yagyuu, and Yagyuu looked in the mirror and saw Niou.

They spent an entire school day like that, fooling everybody. The best part was during tennis practice; their teammates knew them both well enough to know that something was slightly off, but none could quite put their finger on it. And when they stepped onto the court and took their places, opposite places from where they were used to, it was rather exhilarating. Niou was allowed to be neat and tall and elegant for a change, and Yagyuu could be as wild and evil as he wanted without holding back. Neither could get enough of the other's personality.

And the look on their opponents' faces when they switched back was _priceless_.

-o0o-

"Man, what a _lame_ movie."

Yagyuu couldn't help it; he smiled at the other's tone. "It was rather disappointing."

The two partners walked down the dark sidewalk on Friday night, away from the flashing lights of the movie theater. After the flashy effect show they had just seen, the simple brick walls lining the road were a rather welcome change of pace.

"Let's see..." Niou continued, ticking off reasons on his fingers as he went. "Cheap, obviously fake effects; terrible acting; no plot; _way_ too long. Geez, why did we go _see_ that movie?"

Yagyuu laughed a short laugh. "Well, it was a good delay, at least."

Niou stopped, and sent his partner a smirk. "I'm sure our parents wouldn't mind if we were... _delayed_ a bit longer, hmm?"

Neither of them could get enough of the other one. Both Yagyuu and Niou were slightly broken, and so they sought each other in order to become complete again.

That was why, when Niou pressed Yagyuu up against the brick wall and kissed him softly, neither of them objected in the slightest.

After a long while, Niou broke off the kiss. "Let's take this to my place," he whispered harshly into the other's ear.

Yagyuu kissed him again and proceeded to grab Niou's hand, leading the way down the road.

And that was how, on a cool Friday night, two slightly broken souls found each other.

-o0o-

Damn, this thing was ecstasy to write... Now I remember why I want to do this for a living. Please review and tell me what you thought :) If anyone's wondering what's up with the _1984_ cameo, well, I was writing that part while doing English homework, so I had to include it _some_where. XD And by the way, I have no idea what either of their home lives are actually like in canon. If anyone knows, don't tell me. I like to live in my little happy bubble XD Happy reviewing!

Hobey-ho,

Duckie


End file.
